Grand National Weights

With the Grand National being a handicap race, it is very important to consider the weight the horse is carrying before placing a bet. There are trends to suggest that the weight is an important factor and with four miles and four furlongs for the horses to navigate, not to mention the big national fences to encounter it makes sense that the lighter the weight the better.

The principle behind a handicap race is that the horse carries a weight that in theory beiles that horses ability shown in previous races. The better a performance from a horse then the higher the handicap mark that horse will be given. This applies the opposite way to poor performances of horses. What is quite common with Grand National runners is that they will get their handicap mark and then the trainer will protect that by running his horse over hurdles, so their weight for the big race remains unchanged.

Grand National Weight Trends

We've had a look at the last 22 runnings of the Grand National to see what kind of weight the winner carries typically. 17 of the last 22 winners carried 10 stone, 12 pounds to victory, although in recent years weight hasn't been as an important trend.